Ultraviolet – A U2 Fan Watches FROM THE SKY DOWN

Around 1992, when my taste in music was finally becoming my own, I became a big fan of U2. Turns out this was great timing, since the band was basking in the success of one of their greatest albums; 1991’s Achtung Baby. Since then they have been my favorite band through good times and bad…but as my favorite band, there are few stones left unturned for me.

So when I heard about FROM THE SKY DOWN, Davis Guggenheim’s documentary celebrating the 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby, I was both curious and skeptical – both, it would appear, for good reason. Still, as a fan, and as a movie lover, I wanted to see for myself.

The film was commissioned by the band, and this is never a great starting point. To be fair, U2 is not the only band to do this, or even the first. Still, when it comes to rock docs, the blade is usually sharper when the director approaches the artist, far less so when it’s the opposite. U2 planned a massive look back at Achtung Baby to mark its twentieth birthday. A full set of its songs were added to their live show, and several deluxe editions of the album were dropped into stores. The more expensive versions of the album came with dvd’s of FROM THE SKY DOWN bundled in.

To this end, the band deserves a bit of credit, since they very easily could have included a suped up EPK of recycled behind-the-scenes. Creating something new, with high production values and a talented crew, shows that the endeavour mattered to them at least a little.

The film fills in the broadest details of where each member came from, how they met, and skirts through their early career. It spends a few minutes talking about the wave they rode on “The Unforgettable Fire” album, spends a few more minutes talking about that wave rising higher with their “Joshua Tree” album, and finally even more minutes dealing with that wave crashing with the phenomenon that was “Rattle and Hum”. Thus, at the twenty-five minute mark of a 90 minute feature do we get to hear about the matter at hand.

While I do believe that it’s important to set the scene for what the band was dealing with coming into the Achtung Baby sessions, I can’t say I agree with spending a full third of the film on exposition. Details such as the critical backlash, the artistic miscalculation, and the commercial misstep need to be discussed to set context – but there’s a difference between context and over-explanation. On top of that, for any fan of the band, most of these details are common knowledge.

So finally, at the thirty minute mark we arrive in Berlin to discuss the uphill climb that awaited the band at Hansa Ton Studio. Take a moment here and remind yourself of the wonderful tracks from Achtung Baby…

Even Better Than the Real Thing
One
Until The End of The World
Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
The Fly
Mysterious Ways

…not to mention the album cuts that have become standards to millions of fans the world over. Twelve songs in all on the album, and of those the film finds time to discuss…two.

I’m not suggesting that FROM THE SKY DOWN needed to mimic the “Classic Albums” series of films, but considering how hard the band worked on bringing this album together, how radical a departure it was from all of their previous work, and how amazingly textured the songs are, only finding the time to discuss two of these anthems is a massive failure.

However, saving the film from being a complete train wreck is the way it tells the story of one of those two songs: “One”. Again, for fans, the story is well-known. When the project was at its most dire state, with the band squabbling and everyone involved poised to splinter, Edge began to play the chord progression that became “One”. Turns out there was more to that story. I won’t get into every detail, because seeing it for myself was a real joy as a fan. I will say, that there is audio presented that I’ve never heard before, and the way it is mirrored with video is worth the price of admission.

However, it’s the only bright spot. In many ways it feels like the old trick of repackaging the greatest hits on to a new CD, but including one new ditty to entice sales.

I doubt any director would actually read this space, but if they do, I have two pieces of advice for the next filmmaker who wants to tell part of the U2 story:

1 – Before you start talking to the band go through everything that’s ever been written or filmed about them. Notice the enormous amount? Good. Now go and repeat very little of it. If you can’t, think about another project.

2 – However long you think you want to talk to Bono, reduce it by two-thirds. The man’s every waking thought in the last thirty years have been documented to the hills. The rest of the band are equally intelligent, try leaning on their ideas for a change.

Keep in mind that all of this is coming from a man who has multiple copies of ever album the band has released. A man who despite his misgivings, has bought a copy of this film, and will likely watch it repeatedly.

I’ve always said that the best documentaries are the ones that reach beyond the people who are already interested in the subject matter. FROM THE SKY DOWN fails to do that, and by and large it fails to reach out to the people that are interested in the subject matter. Sure does look pretty while it tries though!